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Stratification and inequality are among the most central concepts in sociology, and although related, they are fundamentally distinct: inequality refers to the extent to which resources are distributed unevenly across individuals or between population subgroups, whereas stratification refers to the extent to which population subgroups occupy distinct hierarchical layers within an overall resource distribution. Despite the centrality of stratification in theories of class structure, prior empirical studies have focused exclusively on measures of inequality, which do not accurately capture the degree of class stratification and suffer from a variety of methodological limitations. In this paper, we employ a novel rank-based index of stratification to measure the degree to which occupational classes inhabit distinct, non-overlapping, and hierarchically arranged layers in the distribution of personal market income. The stratification index is nonparametric, both scale and translation invariant, and independent of the level of inequality. Based on this index, our results show that the US income distribution is highly stratified by occupational class and that the degree of class stratification increased substantially from 1980 to 2016. Moreover, we find that this trend is almost entirely due to growing stratification among aggregate occupational classes rather than among the disaggregate occupations nested within them. Finally, a set of counterfactual analyses indicate that the rise of occupational class stratification is driven by increases in the income returns to education, deunionization, and deindustrialization, although the relative importance of these factors varies by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most recent internationally widespread disease outbreak occurred during the flu season of 2009 and 2010. On April 2009, the first cases of influenza A (H1N1) (Popularly called, Swine Flu) were confirmed in the USA and UK following a novel virus that was first identified in Mexico. As the virus spread rapidly, the risk of morbidity and mortality increased in several countries. In this paper, we rely on the social cognitive theory of risk to assess the willingness of the US public to comply with vaccination and reduce the risk of sickness and death from the flu. We conduct a secondary data analysis of the Pew Research for the People and Press October 2009 and investigate the factors associated with willingness to take the swine flu vaccine (n = 1000). The findings indicate that the decision to take the swine flu vaccination was highly polarized across partisan lines. Controlling for education, income and demographic factors, the likelihood of taking the vaccine was associated with party identification. Individuals that identified themselves as Democrats were more likely to be willing to take the swine vaccine than individuals that identify themselves as Republicans and Independents. Confidence in the ability of the government to deal with the swine flu crisis seems to explain party identification differences in the willingness to take the vaccine. The implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recently developed hierarchical age-period-cohort (HAPC) models, inferential questions arise: How can one assess or judge the significance of estimates of individual cohort and period effects in such models? And how does one assess the overall statistical significance of the cohort and/or the period effects? Beyond statistical significance is the question of substantive significance. This paper addresses these questions. In the context of empirical applications of linear and generalized linear mixed-model specifications of HAPC models using data on verbal test scores and voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections, respectively, we describe a two-step approach and a set of guidelines for assessing statistical significance. The guidelines include assessments of patterns of effects and statistical tests both for the effects of individual cohorts and time periods as well as for entire sets of cohorts and periods. The empirical applications show strong evidence that trends in verbal test scores are primarily cohort driven, while voter turnout is primarily a period phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background and Objectives Reverse mortgages are loans that allow older homeowners to borrow from their home equity with no repayment due until the borrower dies or moves out of the home. We currently know very little about how homeowners evaluate and experience reverse mortgages as solutions to their financial and housing needs in later life. Furthermore, despite an increasingly diverse population of reverse mortgage borrowers, we know little about how social inequalities may contribute to reverse mortgage decisions and their outcomes. In this paper, we examine reverse mortgage decision-making and experiences in a racially and economically diverse sample of older US homeowners. Research Design and Methods We conducted 44 in-depth interviews with older homeowners who were considering or who had obtained a reverse mortgage loan. We inductively and iteratively developed a thematic coding scheme that was applied to all interview transcripts. Results Our analysis produced a dichotomous schema of reverse mortgage decision making that was shaped by social and economic opportunities and constraints. For some participants, reverse mortgages represented strategic tools used to maximize home equity and its benefits. For others, it was an option of last resort to which participants turned when faced with the imminent loss of their home. Discussion and Implications Focusing on reverse mortgages, our analysis suggests way that social inequalities may be reproduced through financial decisions and the unequal landscapes of opportunity in which they are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is there a difference between the social capital developed in faith-based and secular poverty-to-work programs? Comparative field research investigating five faith-based and secular poverty-to-work programs in southeastern America finds that values expressed by a secular non-profit organization and two faith-based programs correspond with more activities that develop social capital than the programs run by a for-profit organization and a reinvented government agency. In all the programs this social capital is both 'bridging,' by crossing barriers of race, gender, and class, and 'bonding' by tying participants and staff into at least a temporary supportive community. The programs see that this social capital is effective in supporting low-income persons through the transition to full-time employment. In addition, the faith-based programs seek to extend the social capital by developing long-term ties between clients and local religious congregations. This paper also specifies how social capital is developed in these programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper joins central concerns in the sociology of work and the sociology of aging. Age differences in work commitment and work values are examined, as well as their work and nonwork determinants, using data from 4,567 American and 3,735 Japanese employees. Our results show that older men are more committed to work than younger men in both Japan and the United States. This pattern also holds for American women, but there are no age differences in work commitment among Japanese women. Moreover, there are greater age differences among the Japanese in the importance placed on good pay. This is consistent with the view that there has been greater cultural change in recent years in Japan than in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the current religious mood in the tinned States and reflects upon its manifestations in the mid-1990s. It is argued that the religious mood has shifted -- away from the cognitive and fixed beliefs and toward the experiential arid expressive. It is further argued that given this change it is difficult to assess the current religious situation, especially given sociology-of-religion's reliance upon institutional categories and empirical indicators. Religious capital, like social capital, is not easily gauged without attention to new forms of community allowing individuals opportunity to express themselves as whole persons. A plea is made for a sociology of religion more attuned to body, mind, and self and thus to the dynamic and experiential qualities of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Metropolitan communities in the United States are interdependent. Each metropolis serves the economy through its key functions while at the same time it depends on other metropolises and systems for some of its own needs. Using 1960 data for SMSAs, this paper demonstrates that a community's position in this differentiated system influences the characteristics of its population. Two perspectives for determining a metropolitan community's key functions are used: one considers economic activities one at a time; the other considers the entire configuration of these activities at once. These two procedures are compared in their ability to identify groups of communities having distinctive social structures, as indicated by occupational and educational composition, income level, age and sex structure, and ability to attract and hold migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper explores the connection between employment trends and state mental hospital admissions first presented by Brenner in Mental Illness and the Economy The analysis is based on employment data for the Buffalo SMSA and admissions to the SMSAs only major public psychiatric hospital for the years 1914 to 1955. We employ a series of specifications in time-series analyses. Our findings contrast with Brenner's; unlike his analysis, ours indicates that employment is positively related to admissions. Consistent with other previous research, hospital capacity is also found to be important in predicting admissions. We offer a number of interpretations for the results, in particular noting the need for the examination of the stressful effects of work itself, not merely its loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the impact of siblings on the education of men and women born in the United States between 1920 and 1965. We examine the effect of the number and sex composition of a boy or girl's siblings on that child's educational attainment We find that throughout the century women's educational choices have been systematically affected by the sex composition of her siblings, and that men's choices have not Women raised only with brothers have received on average significantly more education than women raised with any sisters, controlling for household size Since sibling sex composition affects women's educational attainment and plausibly may be unrelated to other determinants of earnings, it may provide a useful instrument for education in earnings functions for women. Our results suggest that standard estimates significantly underestimate the return to schooling for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asian older adults are a fast-growing population in the United States. Because Asian older adults are a largely immigrant population, acculturation has an impact on their perceived discrimination, which is negatively associated with health and mental health. Discrimination can be overt , characterized by distrust and direct messages that are hostile and exclusionary, or covert , characterized by unfair treatment and messages that are negative and degrading. This study investigates the association of acculturation with perceived overt and covert discrimination, measured by the Everyday Discrimination Scale, with a sample of 348 foreign-born older Asian Americans from the National Latino and Asian American Study. Acculturation was measured by English-speaking ability, immigration-related variables, and ethnic identity. Results indicated that perceived covert discrimination was more prevalent than overt discrimination among older Asians. Among acculturation variables, only citizenship was associated with higher perceived covert and overt discrimination. Identifying with the same race was associated with higher covert discrimination. Findings suggest that higher acculturation is associated with greater exposure to discrimination for Asian older adults. Efforts to increase access and utilization of social and health-related services should consider the context of older Asians' experiences as a discriminated immigrant group in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research utilized an ethnographic approach to advance our understanding of the survival strategies employed by the homeless in our society. We examine the types of possessions consumed, how possessions are acquired through nontraditional employment and scavenging, and why some products are purchased while others are scavenged. We also look at the tools used to facilitate search, acquisition, storage, and consumption of these products. Finally, we consider the importance of community for protection of self and possessions and how community among the homeless affects consumption. Emergent themes that allow interpretation of the description are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the meaning and histories of favorite objects in two cultures using surveys and photographs. Favorite object attachment is differentiated from the possessiveness component of materialism and from attachment to other people. Meanings of favorite objects derive more from personal memories in the U.S. and from social status in Niger than from object characteristics. Since favorite objects serve as storehouses of personal meanings, gender, age, and culture reflect differences in object selected as well as reasons for selection. In the U.S., photographs show greater proximity to objects that are symbols of others or experiences than to objects enjoyed for their own attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While W. E. B. Du Bois is widely recognized for his contributions to the sociology of race, his contributions to the foundations of sociology are largely ignored. His sociology is based on African American reformism, a version of pragmatism, and a contingent historicism. The basic view of sociology is one that emphasizes the role of chance and will as opposed to law and certainty. He called sociology “the science of free will.” His view of society is one that focuses on the historical contingency of the structure of society, the malleability of society, and the fundamental feature of American society: a society built around the “color line” or “veil.” This view of society is not merely an interesting historical anomaly, but has significant implications for the understanding of and development of contemporary sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The concept of the sick role was introduced into sociology in 1951 and was widely used in medical sociology. A sick person at that time would assume a special social role that permitted him or her to deviate from his or her normal social roles. Historians came to utilise the idea of the sick role as well. It was useful to describe social behaviour and expectations for the mid-century period and centuries before, but at the end of the twentieth century, the actualities of illness and medicine made the concept less applicable to that recent time period. The fact that this standard concept no longer applied signalled the advent of a new epoch in the history of medicine around the turn of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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The article presents an examination into the sociology of racial segregation and inclusion within white sororities and fraternities in the United States. Introductory details are provided highlighting the legal measures which technically prevent outright racial segregation in such college groups but also pointing out the continued prevalence of exclusionary policies and practices within them. Discussion is then given exploring the social dynamics of non-whites who do participate in such groups and the framing of their actions through paradigms of conformity.

This study examines the differences in beliefs about God's influence in everyday life across levels of socioeconomic status (SES) and whether that association is contingent upon religious involvement (i.e., frequency of praying, attendance, reading religious texts, and subjective religiosity). I focus specifically on the beliefs in divine involvement and divine control. Using data from two national 2005 surveys of Americans, I observe the following: (1) overall, SES is associated negatively with beliefs in divine involvement and control; (2) with the exception of reading religious texts, each indicator of religious involvement is associated with higher levels of beliefs in divine involvement or divine control; (3) SES interacts with each dimension of religious involvement such that the negative association between SES and divine involvement or control is attenuated at higher levels of religious involvement. I discuss the contributions of this research for theoretical perspectives on the relationship between SES and beliefs about God's influence in everyday life, underscoring the need to assess religious involvement in these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores media research studies in the academic field of sociology. An historical overview of mass communication research at the University of Chicago is provided and its shift towards public opinion research is mentioned. The relationship between sources of academic funding and interdisciplinary social science study is analyzed. The authors contend that sociological scholars in the U.S. abandoned mass communication research to professional schools of journalism in the 1950s. Other topics addressed include internet research, the media as an agent of social integration, and survey-based research.

In the USA, the public visibility of economic sociology (ES) has been abysmal, especially in contrast to economics. We start with two case studies where economists borrowed ideas from sociologists, executed them at not particularly high levels and still received great publicity. Once we established that economics gets better press even with less original and overall weaker scholarship, we bracket issues of content and proceed to observe other, institutional mechanisms that privilege economists. As economic sociologists receive less notice because they are sociologists and not economists, we analyse the wider discipline of sociology. We find that sociology is more fragmented both as a discipline and as a profession, it has lost many of its outside constituencies by the 1980s, has not developed a mediating layer of journalists, works on a longer time-scale, and has had mixed success in education. We conclude with recommendations how ES can increase its profile in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the puzzle of diverging trajectories of immigrant citizenship in the United States and Canada to build a new approach to the study of citizenship and political incorporation. I consider three existing models of citizenship: an approach that considers citizenship adoption as the product of cost/benefit calculations; an approach that understands individuals and groups to be differentially endowed with the skills, resources and interests necessary to acquire citizenship; and an approach that believes countries adopt citizenship regimes which either include or shut out immigrants. I then offer an alternative model of structured mobilization which views political incorporation as a social process of mobilization by friends, family, community organizations and local leaders that is embedded in an institutional context shaped by government policies of diversity and newcomer settlement. The material and symbolic resources provided by government shape the ability and interest of "social helpers" to assist with and mobilize around citizenship. The article concludes by considering the implications of structured mobilization for various debates in immigration and political sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the identity and power of the U.S. Exploration of the deeper sources of U.S. exceptionalism; Construction of a new kind of global order; Description of the conditions of U.S. hegemony.

This study examines Salvadoran immigrants' views of both their participation in the church and the role the church plays in their lives. The focus is on Catholic and Evangelical churches among Salvadoran immigrants in three locations — San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Phoenix, an approach that allows the examination of the effects of receiving communities on the role religious institutions play in immigrant life. Data come from qualitative field research conducted in the 1990s and 100 in-depth interviews, complemented with interviews of religious leaders and community workers. Catholic and Evangelical churches, following distinct religious teachings, provide different avenues for immigrants to achieve their goals — collective and individual — and enrich the immigrants' lives and their surrounding communities, an outcome that seems independent of the specific receiving community. Although both churches provide assistance, the approach they take (and the religious teachings that shape how assistance is provided) may influence the immigrants' long-term integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines three eras of young adult home leaving in twentieth-century U.S. Preparation for adult occupations; Factors influencing patterns of home leaving; Decline in the propensity for young people to marry.

The article examines the context within which the Ohio State University conflict in sociology department arose, the process by which the dispute became defined as a moral or ethical one for those who disagreed with the actions of the chairman and the impact on those involved applicants, each of whom had strengths and weaknesses. In the spring of 1967, professor Hans Zetterberg was named Chairman of the sociology department. Later that year, Zetterberg announced through the department newsletter, called the Weekly Message. The main criterion for salary increases and promotions is creative development of knowledge, demonstrated in writing and orally in teaching and related scholarly activities. In addition to the elitist perspective and the clumsy manner in which the new salary structure was created, some other disturbing factors were involved. Zetterberg had few conversations with faculty he placed in invited or frozen categories about their work, their plans for research and publication, or their teaching before he sent their letters. Also, the lack of congruence between his decisions and the earlier statement, concerning salary decisions and promotion developed in the document, especially the statement regarding the importance of teaching, became a major issue.

This article provides information on the origins of white U.S. citizens' opposition to race-targeted policies. Race relations in the U.S. have had a long history, but one that is marked by significant discontinuities over time. The period of slavery was followed by the brief but radically different window of Reconstruction. The Jim Crow system that developed over the following century legalized racial segregation and discrimination, especially but not exclusively in the South. The civil rights revolution effectively ended the two-caste system of race relations, replacing it with a universal system of formal legal equality. Nevertheless, considerable racial inequality remains in many areas of the society, such as in income, wealth, educational attainment, health, crime and so forth. The demise of Jim Crow was accompanied by a sharp decline in the prevalence of its supporting belief system, which has sometimes been described as old-fashioned racism, incorporating both a biologically based theory of African racial inferiority and support for racial segregation and formal racial discrimination. Old-fashioned racism has largely been replaced by general support for the abstract principle of racial equality.

This article provides information on the factors affecting the framing of stories about inequality, discrimination, and bad luck. As of 1997, political leaders in the U.S. have allegedly raised serious questions about the basic necessities of life. While the debate has not always been framed in racial terms, and talk about equality has often been subordinated to discussions about efficiency and global competitiveness, social programs originally designed to improve the social status of African Americans are being threatened by the so-called Republican revolution. The U.S. Congress and numerous state legislatures have begun active reconsideration of the merits of affirmative action. Allegedly, there has been serious consideration of reducing, or even eliminating, the long-standing commitment to universal service in basic telecommunications at the same time that the nation's leaders talk about ushering in the Information Age. Such political discussions are based in part on an assessment of the success or failure of efforts to achieve social goals. The speed with which such a process of reexamination has been able to move forward reflects a perception that is apparently shared by a substantial part of the population.

This article analyzes African Americans' perceptions of whites' stereotypes of African Americans. Social, ethnic, and racial stereotypes that members of one group form of other groups are often uncomplimentary, for, in addition to their purely cognitive function, they are motivated by an ethnocentric bias to enhance one's own group and to disparage out-groups. Variously defined as exaggerated beliefs about the characteristics of a group, character profiles attributed to in-groups and out-groups, or a special language that functions both to reinforce the beliefs and disbelief of its users and to provide solidarity for the prejudiced, stereotypes typically reflect the disparaging views of others. The result is the ultimate attribution error, which is the tendency to attribute negative acts by members of out-groups to innate characteristics while discounting positive traits as exceptional. Supported by cultural and psychological, as well as cognitive, inputs, stereotypes are simplistic, resist discomforting evidence, and create self-fulfilling prophecies when mutually stereotyping groups interact. Stereotypes also contribute to the development of ideologies that justify discrimination behavior against out-groups.

On the basis of a recent large survey of American authors, we report on the general economic condition of this unstructured and differentiated occupation, as well as the economic conditions of various types of authors. With few exceptions, authors earn little from their writing; only those who can "afford" to spend long hours writing stand a reasonable chance of making a modest income from it. The unusual nature of the occupation is suggested by the fact that a wide range of the authors' personal characteristics (demographic and socioeconomic attributes), as well as seemingly important aspects of their writing careers, account for very little variation in economic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents evidence related to exceptionally high social mobility rate of Americans. Arguments stressing American "exceptionalism" in the extent of social mobility must be traced back at least to Alexis de Tocqueville's De la démocratie en Amérique of 1835. For Tocqueville, the U.S. stood in significant contrast with the older nations of Europe on account not only of its democratic form of government but also of various features of the society out of which the new republic had grown. Some decades later, one finds claims remarkably similar to the foregoing being maintained on various occasions by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, even though of course out of political interests very different to those of Tocqueville. Again the contrast is drawn between the old world and the new: more specifically, in this case, between the established capitalist societies of Europe which possess "a developed formation of classes" and the nascent capitalist society of America in which classes "have not yet become fixed but continually change and interchange theft elements in constant flux."

Presents information on a series of articles which provide examples of consumer-based practice models, research projects and empowerment-driven community initiatives that build healthier communities in the U.S.